The trees are less dense, there's more flatland now. The girl observed in deep thought. She'd woken only moments ago, her head leant against the window as she slept and it caused a slight ache as she woke up.
"We must be in England by now," she yawned as she groggily muttered to herself before stretching her ribs, with a crackling sound, she groaned and held onto her sides that had long grown stiff from bad sleeping and sitting posture.
Once the damp feeling in her head subsided, she gradually rose to her feet, slightly unbalanced by the rocking train as the blood slowly flowed into her legs.
Reaching into the overhead rack, she rummaged around to find her bag. When she didn't find it immediately, she began frantically moving her hand around trying to feel for it, it looked like a suffocating octopus. She was growing irritated as she swallowed roughly, wincing in pain.
Ah. Now I remember.
She realised where she was now. She'd fallen asleep in someone else's cabin.
She turned around and realised that the boy from yesterday had been there the entire time. He was staring out the window just as she was. Observing the plains, the colour of the grass, the farmlands, and the occasional wild fauna.
Just as before, his entire body was covered in brown robes, not letting her see his face in its entirety. He was sitting so still.
"Good morning." She struggled to bring the words out.
"Morning." Riven didn't move his head to speak to her. "You thirsty?"
The girl nodded furiously. Riven reached under his seat.
With perfect timing, a knock at the door.
"Excuse me Mister Riven, I brought some water for you."
Riven welcomed her in, and Liliana brought a cart in with cold water and some herbal teas placed atop a milk white blanket.
"I also brought a fresh pack of ice. How is your head doing?"
"I'm doing well, thanks Liliana."
Liliana smiled sweetly as she handed the ice pack over and poured some hot water into a cup with leaves. "Let the chamomile steep for at least five minutes. In the meantime you can drink some water."
A herbal aroma blessed the air, sniffing the air would bring one to a field of apple trees. The spring breeze flew around the room from inside the cup.
Not standing on ceremony, the girl plucked a cup of water from the cart and gulped it all down.
She began a coughing fit.
"Ah! Miss Sophia, so this is where you were, I didn't find you in your room last night. Drink slowly. Oh? Do you have a sore throat, hang on let me prepare some Licorice root."
Sophia nodded in appreciation with her face red. The Licorice added an extra layer of sweetness to the subtle sweetness in the Chamomile. The bees had come and made their honeycombs in the field of apple trees.
Liliana left the room after setting some tea for Sophia.
The two sat in silence, drinking tea.
Sophia glanced at Riven every now and again, he was sipping his tea while staring out the window.
He seemed…quieter than yesterday.
"Hey, are you okay?"
"Hmm?" Riven chuckled softly. He put his hand on his face and put down his hood. "Don't worry about me. How long are you planning to stay here… Sophia was it?"
Sophia finished her Licorice root tea, the last bits of sweet, earthy essence pouring down her throat. Licorice was one of the few teas that she didn't mind drinking, the others were far too bitter for her liking.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep in your cabin. I don't quite remember falling asleep, though. Strange, it must have been that record you played for me, it was truly fascinating stuff, but the speaker's voice was truly so soothing. Ah right! I forgot to thank you for letting me listen. If I could be so bold as to ask one more thing of you, would you please tell me where you found it? I would like to buy a copy of my own."
"No."
Sophia hung her head in disappointment, but she oddly smiled at herself. There's that sharpness from yesterday, she thought.
"Well, I'm just glad you're better." Sophia placed her teacup on the cart and stood to leave.
"Better? B… Better? I've been doing well this whole time." Riven scoffed, "Well, I-I'm not quite sure what you're talking about. But it was good meeting you Sophia. Bye."
With one last sympathetic glance, Sophia left the room.
When the door clicked to a close, Riven walked up to it and closed the binds, darkening the room.
He touched his face again to return his face to its reality. He huffed in relief as the pressure from the mask slowly receded.
Pouring more tea into the cup, reinvigorating the aroma in the room, Riven chugged down the second cup much faster than the first. Downing the tea, he leaned back on his seat and closed his eyes.
"Canada, Portugal, Spain, France, England. Finally England. The black order, I'm almost there Mana. I'll find you."
From within the briefcase seated to Riven's right, a click announced Adam's entrance.
"Riven," he says. "There's something wrong on this train."
His eyes popped open. "I-is it- is it that man? That strange man? He didn't leave?"
Adam shook his head, or rather his entire spherical body. "That devil lingered for a while longer, but he has long left. I fear that whatever I sense was a machination of his creation. His intentions are something I cannot gather."
Riven sank back into the pillows, he squeezed his face with his hand. Slapped himself. Leant forward into the tray. Buried his head on the cold steel. Back to the chair.
He repeated this dramatic performance once more. Every movement was followed by unintelligible muttered moans and low groans. At certain moments it seemed like Riven was on the verge of another breakdown, before pivoting to a more muted but annoyed reaction.
"Can I just ignore this? I mean, it's not like I can do anything to that man. I'll just sit in this cabin and wait for us to arrive in London. It's all good. Yep. It's all good, right?"
"No."